Recently, multi-passenger or carpooling ride-hailing services have grown increasingly popular. These services usually involve the driver of a vehicle following a navigation route to pick-up and drop-off several passengers with similar routes. Typically, the ride-hailing passengers randomly choose their seats within the vehicle.
However, several problems can arise as a result of the passengers' seat occupancy. First, passengers can choose a seat that impedes entry of a future passenger or exit of a current passenger, as demonstrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a current passenger 110 located in the middle of the vehicle's middle row needs to exit the vehicle 100, but is blocked by other passengers located on both sides. In order for the current passenger 110 to exit the vehicle 100, one of the other passengers must temporarily exit the vehicle 100 to allow the current passenger 110 to leave, and then re-enter the vehicle 100 to reach his destination.
Second, passengers or cargo (e.g., a child's car seat, a package, luggage, etc.) often occupy seats of the vehicle. However, a future passenger can be unaware of the seats which are occupied. As a result, it can be time-consuming and generally problematic for the future passenger to determine where to sit and which vehicle door to enter when he is picked up.
Third, passengers can occupy a seat of the vehicle against the preference of the driver. For instance, when a single passenger is in the vehicle, the driver could prefer that the passenger is located in either the front row or the back row. However, the passenger can be unaware of such preference, and thus occupy a seat against the driver's desired arrangement.